Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Short Interest Down 15.5% in December

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 80,050,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the December 15th total of 94,760,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 29,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.52. 19,350,132 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,827,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.70. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $12.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $9.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 28.34% and a negative return on equity of 27.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WBD shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Savalle Sims sold 169,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total transaction of $2,094,228.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 599,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,407,558.12. This represents a 22.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,579,571 shares of the company's stock worth $21,281,000 after acquiring an additional 78,653 shares during the period. Hauser Brothers GmbH raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 56.1% in the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 1,225,000 shares of the company's stock worth $10,106,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 37.7% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 6,886,143 shares of the company's stock worth $56,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,868 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter worth approximately $1,474,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter worth approximately $588,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.